τὸν δʼ ὡς οὖν ἐνόησε πολύτλας δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς
γήραϊ τειρόμενον, μέγα δὲ φρεσὶ πένθος ἔχοντα,
στὰς ἄρʼ ὑπὸ βλωθρὴν ὄγχνην κατὰ δάκρυον εἶβε.
μερμήριξε δʼ ἔπειτα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμὸν235
κύσσαι καὶ περιφῦναι ἑὸν πατέρʼ, ἠδὲ ἕκαστα
εἰπεῖν, ὡς ἔλθοι καὶ ἵκοιτʼ ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν,
ἦ πρῶτʼ ἐξερέοιτο ἕκαστά τε πειρήσαιτο.
ὧδε δέ οἱ φρονέοντι δοάσσατο κέρδιον εἶναι,
πρῶτον κερτομίοις ἐπέεσσιν πειρηθῆναι.240
τὰ φρονέων ἰθὺς κίεν αὐτοῦ δῖος Ὀδυσσεύς.
ἦ τοι ὁ μὲν κατέχων κεφαλὴν φυτὸν ἀμφελάχαινε·
τὸν δὲ παριστάμενος προσεφώνεε φαίδιμος υἱός·
ὦ γέρον, οὐκ ἀδαημονίη σʼ ἔχει ἀμφιπολεύειν
ὄρχατον, ἀλλʼ εὖ τοι κομιδὴ ἔχει, οὐδέ τι πάμπαν,245
οὐ φυτόν, οὐ συκέη, οὐκ ἄμπελος, οὐ μὲν ἐλαίη,
οὐκ ὄγχνη, οὐ πρασιή τοι ἄνευ κομιδῆς κατὰ κῆπον.
ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δὲ μὴ χόλον ἔνθεο θυμῷ·
αὐτόν σʼ οὐκ ἀγαθὴ κομιδὴ ἔχει, ἀλλʼ ἅμα γῆρας
λυγρὸν ἔχεις αὐχμεῖς τε κακῶς καὶ ἀεικέα ἕσσαι.250
οὐ μὲν ἀεργίης γε ἄναξ ἕνεκʼ οὔ σε κομίζει,
οὐδέ τί τοι δούλειον ἐπιπρέπει εἰσοράασθαι
εἶδος καὶ μέγεθος· βασιλῆϊ γὰρ ἀνδρὶ ἔοικας.
τοιούτῳ δὲ ἔοικας, ἐπεὶ λούσαιτο φάγοι τε,
εὑδέμεναι μαλακῶς· ἡ γὰρ δίκη ἐστὶ γερόντων.255
ἀλλʼ ἄγε μοι τόδε εἰπὲ καὶ ἀτρεκέως κατάλεξον,
τεῦ δμὼς εἶς ἀνδρῶν; τεῦ δʼ ὄρχατον ἀμφιπολεύεις;
καὶ μοι τοῦτʼ ἀγόρευσον ἐτήτυμον, ὄφρʼ ἐῢ εἰδῶ,
εἰ ἐτεόν γʼ Ἰθάκην τήνδʼ ἱκόμεθʼ, ὥς μοι ἔειπεν
οὗτος ἀνὴρ νῦν δὴ ξυμβλήμενος ἐνθάδʼ ἰόντι,260
οὔ τι μάλʼ ἀρτίφρων, ἐπεὶ οὐ τόλμησεν ἕκαστα
εἰπεῖν ἠδʼ ἐπακοῦσαι ἐμὸν ἔπος, ὡς ἐρέεινον
ἀμφὶ ξείνῳ ἐμῷ, ἤ που ζώει τε καὶ ἔστιν
ἦ ἤδη τέθνηκε καὶ εἰν Ἀΐδαο δόμοισιν.
ἐκ γάρ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δὲ σύνθεο καί μευ ἄκουσον·265
ἄνδρα ποτʼ ἐξείνισσα φίλῃ ἐνὶ πατρίδι γαίῃ
ἡμέτερόνδʼ ἐλθόντα, καὶ οὔ πω τις βροτὸς ἄλλος
ξείνων τηλεδαπῶν φιλίων ἐμὸν ἵκετο δῶμα·
εὔχετο δʼ ἐξ Ἰθάκης γένος ἔμμεναι, αὐτὰρ ἔφασκε
Λαέρτην Ἀρκεισιάδην πατέρʼ ἔμμεναι αὐτῷ.270
τὸν μὲν ἐγὼ πρὸς δώματʼ ἄγων ἐῢ ἐξείνισσα,
ἐνδυκέως φιλέων, πολλῶν κατὰ οἶκον ἐόντων,
καί οἱ δῶρα πόρον ξεινήϊα, οἷα ἐῴκει.
χρυσοῦ μέν οἱ δῶκʼ εὐεργέος ἑπτὰ τάλαντα,
δῶκα δέ οἱ κρητῆρα πανάργυρον ἀνθεμόεντα,275
δώδεκα δʼ ἁπλοΐδας χλαίνας, τόσσους δὲ τάπητας,
τόσσα δὲ φάρεα καλά, τόσους δʼ ἐπὶ τοῖσι χιτῶνας,
χωρὶς δʼ αὖτε γυναῖκας, ἀμύμονα ἔργα ἰδυίας,
τέσσαρας εἰδαλίμας, ἃς ἤθελεν αὐτὸς ἑλέσθαι.
notes
Odysseus addresses his father, Laertes, testing him with another false story.
232 ὡς: “when.”
234 κατὰ … εἶβε: “was shedding,” tmesis > κατείβω.
235 μερμήριξε: “was debating whether …, or …” (μερμήριξε is usually followed by ἢ . ., ἦ …, but in this case the initial ἢ is omitted). Here the first of the two alternative questions is placed in the infinitive (“whether to…”) and the second in the optative (“or whether he should …”).
237 ὡς: “how.”
241 ἰθὺς … αὐτοῦ: “straight to him” (LSJ ἰθύς II.1).
242 κατέχων κεφαλὴν: “holding his head,” that is, with his head bent over his work (Cunliffe κατέχω 1).
244 οὐκ ἀδαημονίη σʼ ἔχει ἀμφιπολεύειν: (1) “ignorance doesn’t possess you in taking care of” (Cunliffe ἔχω I.42), in which case the infinitive explains ἀδαημονίη, or (2) “ignorance doesn’t keep you from taking care of” (LSJ ἔχωA.II.10, compare to Smyth 2744.7).
245 εὖ … ἔχει: “is going well” (LSJ ἔχω B.II.2).
249 αὐτόν σʼ οὐκ ἀγαθὴ κομιδὴ ἔχει: contrasting with εὖ τοι κομιδὴ ἔχει, about the orchard, in 245.
251 ἀεργίης: with ἕνεκ(α).
252 εἰσοράασθαι: “(there is nothing obviously slavish) to see,” “a loosely attached infinitive” (Russo/Heubeck) defining δούλειον (Smyth 2004, sometimes called an epexegetical infinitive).
253 εἶδος καὶ μέγεθος: accusatives of respect.
254 τοιούτῳ δὲ ἔοικας… / εὑδέμεναι: “you seem like the kind of man (able) to sleep …” (Smyth 2003).
257 τεῦ: “whose,” τίνος.
257 ἀνδρῶν: partitive gen.
259 Ἰθάκην τήνδʼ ἱκόμεθʼ: “this is Ithaka we’ve come to.”
260 νῦν δὴ: “just now.”
260 ξυμβλήμενος: “who met (dat.),” masc. nom. sing. aor. mid. ptc. > συμβάλλω (LSJ συμβάλλω II.3).
261 ἀρτίφρων: either (1) “sensible” (LSJ, Cunliffe, Brill), or, and possibly better, (2) “accommodating” (Autenrieth) (see Logeion ἀρτίφρων for all the possibilities). Stanford points to 19.248, οἱ φρεσὶν ἄρτια ᾔδη (“thought things in accordance with him,” “was of the same mine with him”). The meaning here seems to be “forthcoming.”
262 ὡς: “when.”
263 ζώει τε καὶ ἔστιν: pleonastic (redundant).
267 ἡμέτερόνδʼ: “to our (or my) house.”
268 φιλίων: “(has come) more welcome,” = φίλτερος, masc. nom. sing. > φίλος. Comparative adjective; predicate nominative.
272 πολλῶν κατὰ οἶκον ἐόντων: “(I provided a welcome for him) out of the many things in the house,” genitive of source (Smyth 1410 or, according to Merry, genitive of material, Smyth 1323), or possibly genitive absolute, “because there were many things in the house.”
278 χωρὶς δʼ: “and apart from this …,” “and in addition …”